Last month, the Chargers linebacker blitzed through the gap between left guard and tackle, had Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning in his sights, and as he dove in the air, Manning dodged, his eyes locked downfield.

Next up: Corey Liuget.

The Chargers end bull-rushed a center but tripped over a flattened guard, falling toward Manning a moment after he evaded Butler. Liuget reached out his arms, and Manning hop-scotched over them, his eyes still downfield.

Defensive coordinator John Pagano has a four-letter word to salute plays like these, which Manning ended by throwing a 7-yard completion with outside linebacker Melvin Ingram in his face.

"We call them 'mops,'" Pagano said. "Missed opportunities."

On Sunday, San Diego looks to put more pressure on Manning than it did their first meeting when Manning found a rhythm. He completed 13 of 14 second-half passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns to help guide a come-from-behind win.

One of those touchdowns came the play after Manning, 36, avoided Butler and jumped over Liuget.

"It was such an athletic move by Peyton," Pagano said, "where one guy is coming in, he fell down, he jumped over the other guy. We had the opportunity to contain it, but that is a missed opportunity to make a sack in a game-changing play.

"Manning is still very athletic in the way he moves. He works at it. That’s what he does and it shows out there on the field.”

The Chargers haven't been able to consistently get to the quarterback this year.

The team had three sacks in the fourth quarter of its season opener against the Raiders. It has 11 in the other 35 quarters. The total of 14 is tied for third lowest in the NFL.

It wasn't a lack of aggression against the Broncos.

In that second half, the Chargers sent at least five rushers on 10 of 16 pass plays, including those nullified by penalty. They rushed six twice, one on a play Denver was flagged for holding and the other on a pass that safety Eric Weddle tipped behind the line of scrimmage. Manning threw the ball out quicker to counter the attack, and he wasn't sacked all game.

Pagano mixed it up on 3rd-and-16 to start the fourth quarter, showing blitz pre-snap with two linebackers. They bailed into coverage at the snap, and against a three-man rush, Manning converted a 25-yard pass to tight end Jacob Tamme.

Liuget said it was "sickening" how the defense nearly got to Manning in their first matchup.

"We were close, but we didn't get there," Liuget said. "Close is never good enough. This game, we have to finish. We have to finish and get him to the ground. ... You just have to get back to it and know, 'Hey, I was that close last time. Now, I got to get him this time.' It's that mindset of effort, action and just controlling what you can control."

The Chargers can't send five-plus pass rushers every down.

They need to improve at creating pressure when it's just four.

Outside linebacker Antwan Barnes said he hopes to be a "major help" in that category. After missing last week's game against the Buccaneers, he may return Sunday from a hamstring injury.

"We need to get after him," said Barnes, who practiced Thursday for the first time in nearly two weeks. "Not be close like what happened last time. ... It's just beating the guy in front of you. Win the one-on-one (matchups)."

A lot goes into creating a pass rush.

Cornerbacks Quentin Jammer and Antoine Cason both said Thursday they have to stay physical at the line of scrimmage, jamming the Broncos' receivers to disrupt the timing of route development.

"That's my job, and I haven't done a good enough job," said Phillips, who has a team-high five sacks. "I'm working my (tail) off, and I need to do a little more. It's a little bit of both. The secondary has to cover, and we've got to rush. We'll continue to get better.

"The one thing about this team is we work at it at practice. All the guys are pass rushing their butts off at practice and working and trying to get better. As long as we keep that attitude, we're going to be OK."